Author Interview & Book Giveaway: Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby

Having failed at becoming a ballerina with pierced ears (her childhood dream), Allison Rushby tried writing instead. This is working out a lot better for her as it means she can sit on her backside most of the day and eat a lot more than a ballerina ever could. Plus, she can wear her pyjamas until midday and her book, movie ticket and DVD purchases are tax deductions. It doesn’t get much better than that.Over the past ten years, she has published five books for young adult readers and five for adult readers in the women’s fiction genre. She is originally from Brisbane, Australia, but in 2011 and 2012 will be living in Cambridge, UK where she will most likely spend her days whingeing constantly about the weather.She is currently working on a six episode New Adult e-serial for St Martin’s Press, a new YA novel, a travel memoir and her sanity. Oh, and she got the pierced ears in the end, thanks for asking…

Interview:If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future? To the past, but I’d take a stash of antibiotics with me!

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects? I’m currently writing a six episode New Adult e-serial for St Martin’s Press that I’m very excited about. It’s set in the 1920s in London and is quite Downton Abbey-esque in some ways. I’m having a ball writing it and making trips to London for research (and shopping) purposes.

What’s one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors? Write. Then read. Then write some more. Don’t stop until you get published.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you “grew up”? A ballerina with pierced ears. I got the pierced ears.

If a movie was made about your life, who would you want to play the lead role and why? Toni Collette. I’m always being told we look very similar. Plus, she’d do a great Aussie accent.

What movie and/or book are you looking forward to this year?The Woman in Black. It looks so spooky and I’m a big fan of Daniel Radcliffe. I recently saw him perform in a musical in NYC and was amazed at how good he was.

Nickname? AJ (Allison Jane — the Jane is for Jane Austen as my mother is a big fan).

What do you do in your free time? I love to bake. Nothing healthy, of course.

How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?I bought champagne, had my hair done and went out on a slap up dinner with my extended family.

What TV show/movie/book do you watch/read that you’d be embarrassed to admit? I’m currently having midday binges on all the Australian customs and border security shows they show on TV in the UK, because I miss hearing Aussie accents!

Finish the sentence- one book I wish I had written is….We Need To Talk About Kevin.

Favorite places to travel? London. Always London.

Favorite smell? Pear. I am crazy about pear and have all kinds of pear perfumes and candles.

Cats or Dog? Cats all the way. I am desperately missing my gorgeous Devon Rex cat, Violet, who is currently living with my parents in Australia.

Facebook or Twitter? Twitter. If you can’t say it in 140 characters, it’s not worth saying.

Shooting Stars

Meet Josephine Foster, or Zo Jo as she’s called in the biz. The best pint-sized photographer of them all, Jo doesn’t mind doing what it takes to get that perfect shot, until she’s sent on an undercover assignment to shoot Ned Hartnett—teen superstar and the only celebrity who’s ever been kind to her—at an exclusive rehabilitation retreat in Boston. The money will be enough to pay for Jo’s dream: real photography classes, and maybe even quitting her paparazzi gig for good. Everyone wants to know what Ned’s in for. But Jo certainly doesn’t know what she’s in for: falling in love with Ned was never supposed to be part of her assignment.